Thankful for kindess

Today I'm thankful for kindness in the world. While in Birmingham today for the BHAM Games competition, Carter and I walked a few blocks to Moe's for lunch to get out for a bit. The lady in front of us paid for our food and left us one of Church of the Highlands "Acts of Kindness" cards. We just finished a series on Generous (you can watch the archived messages here) and they gave out thousands of these cards and asked members to bless others in the name of Jesus. There are countless stories of changed hearts and lives just through these random acts of kindness. In a world that can seem so dark sometimes, it's nice to see that good people can still make a difference. Time to pay it forward!

Be the Good

Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

- Ephesians 4:32

Thankful for Josh

Today I'm thankful for my husband. We spent the entire day together as a family at his first weightlifting meet. I'm so glad that his hobbies are something that we can all be involved in, and that are overall a healthy and productive addition to our lives. Josh did a great job, and took silver in the clean and jerk and the total for his weight class. Carter had a great day watching the event, playing with new friends, and even taking a nice nap on the floor of a super-loud room - I don't know how he did it! Josh is the best dad EVER - hands down. He's been involved in every aspect of Carter's care since day one. It pains him to leave him at school when he's home, and they have the most epic play time ever when he finally gets him in the afternoon/evening. I've watched Josh transform over the 6 years we've been together. He was WILD when we met. He became a father the instant he found out I was pregnant. He's continued to change as he becomes more social through his love of CrossFit and weightlifting. His heart is changing daily as we get more involved in our church and in service to others. Everyday I'm thankful that God put me in his path - I love you, Josh!

Wives, submit yourselves to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.
- Colossians 3:18 

How to Deal: Beat the Cheat

 

 

This scoreboard shows a lot. It shows that these athletes worked their butts off in a ton of WODs to put all of those numbers up. But what does it NOT show? Does it show the fact that a judge let less than acceptable burpee reps slide by? No. Does it show that a judge miscommunicated the acceptable movement (let's say... shoulder-to-overhead... behind the neck jerk?) to an athlete and then was corrected by another judge MID-WOD after several reps of that movement had already been completed, putting the athlete so far behind in reps that it was nearly impossible to come back from? Nope. Does it show that in a final, head-to-head tie-breaker WOD a different start system was used and the WOD was not communicated effectively before said start? Negative.

 

Every competition... every event... will have a glitch. Here are some tips on how to avoid or deal with those glitches.

 

Event Hosts: Make sure information is communicated well, and well in advance if possible. Pick movements that are easily judged. Test your WODs. Plan for ties. Educate your judges on exactly what you're looking for - leave NO details out. Be consistent with your briefings and rulings. YOU are the START. Lay the foundation for a seamless event.

 

Judges: Make it your priority to be honest and fair. I have witnessed a guy get no-repped on 20ish HSPUs trying his hardest to finish out the WOD, and his judge had a look of pain on his face with every no-rep. But here's the reality - the athlete (ONE person) may have been thankful if he'd let a rep or two slide, but the 100+ spectators would have been outraged. Everyone wants to see the guy finish, but they want it to be done honestly.

 

Athletes: Listen during the standards briefing. Ask questions. Talk to your judge before the WOD starts. Demonstrate a rep or two for him so he knows what your good movement looks like. Josh's arms are so bulky that during HSPUs (and sometimes overhead barbell movements) it sort of looks like he's not at full-extension even when he is. He's always careful to show a judge before a WOD with those movements in it. Most judges don't enjoy no-repping athletes. Make sure you're on the same page before the WOD to decrease the possibility of no-reps and the impending frustration that comes with them. As far as how to deal with that judge that is letting bad reps slide - Be better than his athlete. Your good movement should be more efficient than his sub-standard movement. Unless you have the time to grab a higher-level judge, drag him over, and let him see this fool in action, chances are the athlete's score is going to stand. Don't use that as an excuse later on. The best way to overcome that is to beat him! Along the same lines, if we expect our judges to be honest, our athletes should be honest as well. If you know your movement is sub-standard, and you're not getting no-repped - shame on you! It's a disgrace to the sport to intentionally skimp on movement to "get ahead." Don't be that guy that everyone tells stories about months later... take pride in your reps! And if you can't muster up some self-pride, please think about your family, your coaches, and your fellow members that know what your best is. Don't embarrass your box!

 

 

 

 

Combat at Calidus

Event: Combat at Calidus
 

Powered by: Hi-Temp Athletics

Hosted By: Elijah Muhammad

Location: Tuscumbia, AL

Date: 9.8.13

Category: Rx Male

Ranking: 15/27

 

This was a great event. There were several athletes present that have competed at the Regional level, and it was awesome to watch them do work throughout the day. The competition ran smoothly and the lunch provided for athletes was a nice surprise - steak and sweet potato! They also provided great swag bags. This may have been the best event we've attended, mostly due to the great athletes. We were essentially there by ourselves, but as always the CrossFit Community proved itself. We met a lot of great people, saw wonderful sportsmanship in action, and overall enjoyed our day. With a field stacked with elite athletes, Josh was happy with his overall placement and really had to push himself to the limits to be competitive. Here's to hoping they do this one again next year - we'll certainly be there!

 

 

WOD #1
 For Time:
1,000m row
50 GHD sit-ups
30 HSPU

*row will be scored as one event. Then there will be a score for total workout.

*15 min time cap on workout.

 

Waiting for the start

 

"In order to beat me, you're going to have to suffer."

This WOD was a ton of upside-down. He was spinning by the end of it.

 

 

WOD #2
 8 min to build to 1RM
 Hang Clean

 *tie breaker is deadlifts at weight on the bar.
*cannot decrease in weight.

 

Heaviest lift before time ran out. 325# Hang Clean.

 

Chillin' and watching Madagascar

 

 

WOD #3
 7 min AMRAP:
20 wall balls (20)
10 squat snatch
 #:115-135-155-175-195

* weight will increase after each set of wall balls
*weight can only be put on by athlete after wall balls have been completed
*any style snatch is acceptable, as long as weight goes overhead in one fluent motion & is squatted & back to full extension while weight is overhead.

 

 

 

WOD #4
  For time:
40 yard sprint
Rest 1:00
Then...
Double Under
50-40-30-20-10
Deadlift 325/185
1-2-3-4-5

 

*sprint will be scored as one event.

 

Not necessarily built for speed, but he held his own :)

 

 

After a brutal day, we made the 3 hour trip home (with a quick stop at Chili's to refuel that machine of his). At 9pm, He continued on to the new box to help Jake tear some concrete up.... they pulled an all-nighter and finished right before the plumber came to do his thing! These are some dedicated folks - CFI members, never forget the things your coaches do to bring you amenities like a nice hot shower! :)